Bathroom fixture mount



Oct. 18, 1960 N T 2,956,767

BATHROOM FIXTURE MOUNT Filed May 6, 1957 INVENTOR Unite BATHROOM FIXTURE MOUNT Filed May 6, 1957, Ser. No. 657,289

'1 Claim. (Cl. 248251) This invention relates to a bathroom fixture mount of the type intended to be utilized singly or in pairs for mounting towel bars, grab bars, soap dishes, and the like on the walls of bathrooms, dressing rooms or similar accommodations.

Conventional bathroom fixture mounts of the character of that under consideration here usually include a mounting plate secured to a wall or other surface and adapted to co-operate with a bracket having a cover and a post portion formed integrally with said cover, said cover being disposable in overlying relationship with the mounting plate and being securable by fastening means such as States Patent set screws, or the like, in operative relationship with I said plate.

In conventional bathroom fixture mounts of the character of that referred to herein'above, economy dictates the use of one type of bracket and thus variations in the design of the cover portion of the bracket within one line are seldom found.

-It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide a bathroom fixture mount which includes a supporting member having a base portion with a perpendicular directed post formed integrally therewith and said base portion being designed to receive any one of a plurality of different designs of cover plates whereby the overall appearance of the bathroom fixture mount can be varied to suit both the decor of the ,room in which the mounts are utilized and the tastes of the decorator or user of the room.

An additional object of my invention is the provision of a bathroom fixture mount of the aforementioned character wherein the supporting membersbase portion is provided with a peripheral flange and the cover is provided with a skirt adapted to engage said base portion and retain said cover plate in operative relationship therewith. i

,Another interesting aspect of the bathroom. fixture mount of my invention is the fact that even with .one configuration of cover plate, an interesting variety of arrangements and decorative effects can be achieved because the orientation of the cover plates can be varied with respect to the basal portion of the supporting memher with which they are associated. This desirable result is achieved by providing a basal portion of uniform character and by forming each of the designs of cover plate with an area conforming to and engaging the flange on. the base portion. Therefore, when various elongated shapes of plates are used, theylcan be oriented horizontally, vertically, or in inverted positionswith respect to the associated bases of the supporting members. I When bathroom fixture mounts of thecharacter under consideration here are utilized to support elongated rods or tubes such as towel bars, grab bars, and the like, misalignment of the sockets in the posts of such bathroom fixture mounts is frequently encountered, due to the necessity for attaching the supporting members of said mounts prior to the afiixation of the brackets thereto and the assembly of the towel bar or other member in operative relationship with the sockets in the posts of said brackets. Such misalignment of the sockets in the posts of the brackets frequently entails the angular orientation of the towel bar or other member mountedin the sockets of the posts and such orientation and misalign ment of the towel bar results in the imposition of strain and stress upon the mounting brackets of themount which ultimately results in the displacement of the mounting plates for the brackets from the walls or other surfaces with which they are associated. I

A further object of my invention is the provision of a bathroom fixture mount wherein the supporting merr bers are provided with a plurality of fastener receiving openings, at least one of which is enlarged to permit the supporting member and, more particularly, the base portion thereof to be adjusted with respect'to a surface upon which it is mounted in order to correct misalignment of the socket in the post on the supporting member with the extremity of a towel bar or similar elongated body adapted to be received in said socket. 4

Due to the fact that the adjustmentof the supportin member and, more particularly, the base thereof can be accomplished with the cover plate released from operative relationship with the base while the towel bar is in operative relationship with the socket, accurate installation of the fixture mount in conjunction with the as sociated towel bar or other element is achieved. 1.

Another undesirable characteristic frequently encountered in conventional bathroom fixture mounts is the fact that elongated bodies such as towel bars, grabbars, and the like, are frequently found to rock back and forth in the socket of the post with which they are as sociated. Such rocking and loose mounting of towel bars and similar elongated bodies is attributable to the looseness of the extremities of towel bar or other element in the sockets with which they are associated;

A further object of my invention is the provision, in a bathroom'fixture mount of the aforementioned character, of sockets inthe posts whose walls are provided with locating means adapted to securely engage upon the exterior surface of a towel bar or other type of element receivable in sockets in order to prevent 'looseness of the extremities of said bars or elements and the like.

Other objectsand advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following specification and the ac companying drawing which is for the purpose of illus'-: tration only and in-whichz 1 i Fig.1 is a perspective view. showing a pair of bathroom fixture mounts of my invention mounted in operative relationship with a wall or similar surface and support ing a towel bar therebetween; i

Fig. 2 is a horizontal, enlarged sectional on the broken line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse, sectional view taken on the broken line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig; 4 is a transverse, sectional view taken on the broken line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view showing the inversion of a cover plate with relationship to the supporting member base on which it is mounted; V

'Fig. 6 illustrates the horizontal orientation of a cover plate of the character of that shown in inverted position in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 illustrates the utilization of the bathroom fixture mount with a vertically oriented postor othc'r element;

view taken Fig. 8 shows the adjustment opening in thebase of the i thereof, I show a bathroom fixture mount 10 constructed in accordance with the teachings of my invention and adapted to be used singly or in pairs, as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing, to support a towel bar 12 or similar elongated elementin overlying relationship with a wall surface 14; The bathroom fixture mount 10 includes, as best illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing, a supporting member 16, said supporting member having a substantially square base 18 which incorporates a peripheral' flange 20 spaced above or outwardly of the bottom 22 of said base and being provided with a pluralityof fastener receiving openings 24 and 26, at least one of which, in the present embodiment 26, is enlarged to facilitate the adjustment of the supporting member 16 with respect to the wall surface 14 upon which it ismounted after the supporting member 16 has been secured in operative relationship with said wall surface by means'of screws 28, or similar fasteners.

; Formed integrally with the base 18 of the supporting member 16 is a perpendicularly oriented post 30 having a shoulder" 32 at its inner extremity and incorporating a socket 34 in its outer extremity.

The socket 34 is of substantially square cross section and a pair of locating wedges 36 is formed integrally with the side walls thereof. Also provided on the walls of the socket 34 are locating abutments 38, for a purpose which will be described in greater detail below. It will be noted that the base 18 of the supporting member 16 is substantially square in configuration and the uniform configuration of said base is a factor in facilitating the utilization of the supporting member 16 with a wide variety of different types of cover plates. 'Operatively associated with the individual supporting members 16, as best illustrated in Figs. l-2 of the drawing, are cover plates 40 formed from sheet metal or the like and including a web portion 42 having a post receiving opening 44 formed therein and adapted to engage upon the base of the post 30. Formed integrally with the web portion 42 of the cover plate 40 is a peripheral skirt 46 encompassing the peripheral flange 20 on the base 18 of the supporting member 16 and extending into engagement or close contiguity with the adjacent surface 14 of the Wall upon which the bathroom fixture mount 10 is secured.

The skirt 46 is provided with detents constituted by dimples 48 in oppositely'disposed portions of the skirt '46, said dimples, as best shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, underlying the peripheral flange 20 and serving to demountably secure the cover plate 40 in operative relationship with the base 18 of the supporting member 16.

The web portion 42 of the cover plate 40 is provided with a decorative portion 52 and the configuration of the cover plate 40 as a whole is such that the upper extremity thereof, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, tapers gradually. However, the main portion of the cover plate 40 conforms with the configuration of the base 18 of the supporting member 16 whereby secure attachment of the cover plate 40 in operative relationship with the base 18 of the supporting member may be achieved. Therefore, if desired, the cover plate 40 may be oriented into various positions in relationship to the base 18 of the supporting member 16.

For instance, as illustrated in Fig. of the drawing, the cover plate 40 may be inverted to dispose the tapered portion thereof below rather than above the post 30. If desired, the cover plate 40 may be horizontally oriented on the base 18 of the supporting member 16 to permit a difierent decorative efiect to be achieved.

The versatility of the cover plate 40 with respect to the base 18 of the supporting member 16 is attributable to the fact that the configuration of the major portion of the cover plate, that is, the portion below the depression 52 in the web 42 thereof, is substantially identical with the configuration of the base plate 18 itself. Of course, a large number of difierent designs of cover plates can be utilized in conjunction with the base 18 of the supporting member 16 with the proviso that at least a portion of the associated cover plate, whatever its design, conform substantially to the base 18 of the supporting member 16 or incorporate means, such as the skirt 46 and the dimples 48 therein, for retaining the cover plate in operative relationship with the base 18 of the supporting member 16.

Illustrative of the manner in which the cover plates associated with the supporting member 16 may be changed to vary the decorative appearance of the bathroom fixture mount 10 is Fig. 7 of the drawing wherein there is shown a cover plate 60 of substantially square configuration which incorporates a slightly convex web 62 provided with a post receiving opening 64 in the center thereof. The cover plate 60 includes a peripheral skirt 66 in which are provided detent dimples 68 engageable behind or below the peripheral flange 20 on the base 18 of the supporting member 16.

Furthermore, Fig. 7 illustrates the manner in which the supporting member 16 can be re-oriented to direct the socket 3'4 in a position in which it will receive a vertical bar 72 or the vertically oriented base of another type of fixture.

The towel bar installation as shown in Figs. 1-4 of the drawing is typical of many wherein the bathroom fixture mount 10 of my invention can be utilized and such installations entail the use of a pair of bathroom fixture mounts 10. Initially, the supporting members 16 are fastened to the wall surface 14 by means of screws 28 in spaced relationship with each other, the distance between the supporting members 16 being determined by the length of the towel bar 12.

After the distance between the bathroom fixture mount, as dictated by the length of the towel bar 12, is estab lished, the first supporting member 16 is affixed in operative relationship with the surface of the wall 14 by the utilization of the screws 28. A cover plate 40 or a cover plate of different design can be placed upon the post 30 and, if desired, snapped into overlying position with the base 18 of the supporting member 16.

The supporting member 16 of the second bathroom fixture mount 10 is then aligned with the free extremity of the towel bar 12 and said free extremity is inserted in the socket 34 thereof. with a cover plate 40 mounted upon the post 30 of the supporting member 16. Screws 28 are then driven into the wall 14 and the screw associated, with the enlarged fastener receiving opening 26 is left slightly loose to permit the rotation of the supporting member 16 to properly align the supporting member with the towel bar 12 and thus prevent misalignment of the towel bar 12 from causing ultimate displacement of the supporting member 16.

After the supporting member 16 is properly adjusted with reference to the towel bar 12 and the wall 14 upon which it is located, the cover plate 40 can be snapped in overlying relationship with the base 18 of the supporting member 16. The orientation of the cover plate, if it is assymetric in form, can be varied in the manner graphically illustrated in Figs. 1, 5, and 6 of the drawing to achieve the different decorative effects depicted in the figures of the drawing. If, at any time, an alignment problem should arise between the respective supporting members 16 of the bathroom fixture mounts 10, the cover plate 40 can be removed from operative relationship with either or both of the bases 18 of the associated supporting members 16 to permit said supporting members to be individually, or jointly adjusted to overcome said misalignment.

As previously indicated, it is common in bathroom fixture mounts to loosely insert the opposite extremities of towelbars or the like in the sockets in said mounts. Such looseness of the towel bars in the sockets results in an undesirable movement of the towel bars and the rewhenthe conventional mounts are utilized with grab bars, and the like, which must support considerable weight, such looseness is a deterrent to customer acceptance.

In order to overcome this shortcoming of conventional constructions, the socket 34 in the post 30 of each supporting member 16 is provided with locating wedges 36, said locating wedges engaging the opposite sides of the extremity of a towel bar, or the like, inserted in the socket and slightly displacing the same in order to wedge the towel bar extremity into positive engagement with the walls of the socket. Thus, rotational wobbling of the towel bar in the associated socket is eliminated. Furthermore, in order to prevent longitudinal movement of the towel bar 12 with respect to the sockets 34, locating abutments 38 which engage the opposite extremities of the towel bar 12 are provided which prevent longitudinal shifting of the towel bar once it is properly located in the co-operating sockets of spaced posts of the bathroom fixture mounts 10.

As graphically illustrated in Fig. 7 of the drawing, the bathroom fixture mount 10 of my invention can be utilized in a wide variety of applications and is not limited to association in pairs for the mounting of towel bars, grab bars, or the like. For instance, in Fig. 7 a single bathroom fixture mount 10 is utilized in conjunction with the vertical base or bar of a bathroom fixture, not shown, to support the same.

Of considerable importance is the fact that the cover plates of the bathroom fixture mount 10 are provided in a wide variety of difierent designs whereby the potential purchaser has available for selection cover plates adapted for use with any conceivable bathroom decor and adapted to suit the individual predilection of the decorator or com 6 sumer. Thus, a wide variety of different decorative effects can be achieved by the simple expedient of utilizing different cover plates in association with the supporting memhers.

I claim as my invention:

In a bathroom fixture mount, a polygonal base adapted to be secured to the surface of a wall and having integral therewith a support post extending from a medial part of the base, a cover plate having an opening for receiving said post to permit said plate to be assembled in position covering the base, said opening fitting the post, flanges on two opposed sides of said base and extending along a major part of said sides, and detents on said cover plate for coaction with said flanges for holding said plate assembled to said base.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,044,893 Lathrop Nov. 19, 1912 1,356,745 Schwartz et a1. Oct. 26, 1920 2,011,193 Duket Aug. 13, 1935 2,089,389 Lyon Aug. 10, 1937 2,158,734 Sladek May 16, 1939 2,196,571 Van Gorden Apr. 9, 1940 2,215,331 Marsh Sept. 17, 1940 2,258,264 Schultz Oct. 7, 1941 2,315,955 Hallenscheid Apr. 6, 1943 2,455,606 Pleiss Dec. 7, 1948 2,479,181 Pavlack Aug. 16, 1949 2,640,672 Bedford June 2, 1953 2,864,578 Margulis Dec. 16, 1958 

